By Peter Landau
McDonald's is a franchise; Species is a gift from the cinematic gods. Upon unleashing its graphic mix of sex and violence, often in the very same scene, Species changed the face of one-night stands forever. And with the new unrated release of Species III (2004) on DVD December 7, Pearl Harbor will have to move over. This will be the nude day that will live in infamy.
Some saw the release of Species (1995) as just another Alien (1979) rip-off, albeit with a big budget. The creature was even designed by H.R. Giger, who was responsible for the double-jawed slimy beast of the Alien series. But what made Species unique and nude-worthy was that this space baddy was part human--and that human was played by the blonde bombshell Natasha Henstridge.
Natasha was hot enough to melt the frozen wilderness of her native Canada and by the ripe age of fourteen embarked on a fashion career in Paris. At fifteen she was strutting her stuff on the covers of international publications. The five-foot-ten-inch 36-25-36 tattooed love doll (she has two: one on her butt cheek and the other on her tailbone, both sure to give her fans boners) had done some commercial work, but Species marked her debut on the big screen.
And what a debut! Natasha is joined by such A-caliber stars as Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, Quentin Tarantino tough guy Michael Madsen, future Spider-Man 2 (2004) Doc Ock Alfred Molina, and actor/director Forest Whitaker. But it's her D-cups that steal the spotlight in every scene she exposes them in, which are myriad.
The plot involves a message from deep space containing DNA code that is then implanted in a human female embryo. The fetus--which will become half-breed Sil--grows at an alarming rate--as will the beastie in your pants. Scientists try to kill the young Sil, but her superhuman strength allows her to escape. She also has a superhuman need to procreate, which sends her on a skinful mission to breed. Sil grows up fast into Natasha, who grows out of her clothes within the first twenty minutes of the film.
Natasha is naked in about half a dozen scenes (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4) where she is usually seducing a clueless mate that she then kills when he doesn't fit her genetic code. If you've got to go, it may as well be ogling Natasha's nipples. But hers are not the only boobies to prize in this wonderful hybrid of sci-fi and softcore moviemaking.
Fiery redhead Marg Helgenberger (Picture: 1 - 2) has one up on Natasha, having already been nude onscreen in Death Dreams (1991), though it was only an accidental flash of her finery. In Species, she plays Dr. Laura Baker, and who wouldn't want to get a complete physical from this moan-worthy medical professional? Madsen enjoys a topless examination of her in the movie.
While Natasha went on to use her body as a stepping stool to success, Marg peaked in the realm of peek with Frame by Frame (1996), which offered the breast look at her frame on camera, including a snippet of her burning bush.
Species director Roger Donaldson knows how to get the moist from his actresses. He did, after all, direct the vivacious Sean Young (Picture: 1 - 2) in her nude debut, No Way Out (1987). The title didn't refer to Sean's ability to undress. She got her goodies out in a couple of scenes, and they will make viewers feel forever Young. He convinced Gina Gershon (Picture: 1 - 2) to flash not her tail but a slip of nip in Cocktail (1988). And Fran Drescher (Picture: 1 - 2) drove her pair in her only nude scene from Donaldson's Cadillac Man (1990). He was the last director to expose Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's dunes in White Sands (1992). His update of Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway (1994) doubled the nudity quotient of original skin star Ali MacGraw with Kim Basinger (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3) andJennifer Tilly (Picture: 1). But filming Natasha's nasty bits must have done something to the helmsman, because he's never featured skin again in any of his later films.
The sequel, Species II (1998), was given to director Peter Medak, a promising choice, as he began his career behind the camera directing Negatives (1968). It features Glenda Jackson's first skin onscreen. Most of his work has been on TV, though often for the more liberal standards of networks such as HBO, with some episodes of its skinful Carnivale being helmed by Medak. He also directed The Men's Club (1986) and managed to get Penny Baker (Picture: 1), Ann Dusenberry (Picture: 1), Marilyn Jones, and Helen Shaver to act as if they were in a men's topless club. His Romeo is Bleeding (1993) had nothing to do with Shakespeare and everything to do with Lena Olin's breasts (Picture: 1), which he photographed from every conceivable angle. But Species II would be his masturbation-piece.
Natasha returns as Eve (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3), a new version of Sil created without the deadly reproductive drive. But a mission to Mars has returned with an infection that turns its commander into a male version of species, a himbo doing it with everyone in a skirt (and, thankfully, out of a skirt). Trouble is, the lucky ladies instantly get impregnated and give birth. But at least audiences get to see them naked before they erupt in goop.
Joining Natasha for the sequel's copious amount of nudity are Raquel Gardner (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4), Nancy La Scala (Picture: 1 - 2), and Sarah Wynter (Picture: 1 - 2). Raquel had appeared in several episodes of the boob tube's hot series Silk Stalkings and dunked her heavy dumplings in the crystal waters of paradise in Pamela Anderson's straight-to-video teaser Edenquest (1995). But after playing a Hat Girl in the comedy A Night at the Roxbury (1998), her melons were never squeezed from again.
Nancy is the daughter of a dairy farmer, which makes sense. Who else could grow the udderly plump and perfect pair that she reveals in this flick? Nancy plays one of the tag-teaming sisters, along with Raquel, who give the male species the ride of his life, though they pay for it with their own. She later showed up in with Meg Ryan in the steamy thriller Edenquest (2003) as a Baby Doll Dancer, shaking her stuff with erotic dancers Sandy Vital, Ami Goodheart, Sharon Riggins, and Karen Riggins.
The girl from Down Under who doesn't mind showing her down unders, Sarah made a splash in Americans' pants with her provocative appearance in the premiere of Sex and the City. That led to her naked ambition in Species II, which she followed up with skin-worthy scenes in The 6th Day (2000), on which God obviously jerked off, and Bride of the Wind (2001). The latter was no foul wind, being her hottest onscreen perv-formance yet. Her star is on the rise with the success of the Fox series 24, but hopefully she won't forget her randy roots.
Because of Natasha's neutered biology in the sequel, she is sadly less skinful than in the pervious movie. But Natasha does share her assets in an alien sex scene with gooey tentacles protruding from her nipples.
Natasha returns as Eve in Species III but keeps her fig leaf on. She does pass the forbidden fruit on to her daughter, a new arousing alien played by Sunny Mabrey (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3), who more than makes up for Natasha's skinginess. She's no stranger to sharing her naked body with the public, which she did anonymously as one of the nude models with Ricky Martin on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. She also appeared in the Limp Bizkit video for "Nookie", and who wouldn't want to get some nookie from Sunny? Her next appearance will be in the sequel to XXX (2002), XXX: State of the Union (2005), starring Ice Cube as another extreme secret agent. Too bad the movie isn't rated XXX.
Sharing in the skin duties for Species III, which debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel in an edited version back in November, is Amelia Cooke (Picture: 1 - 2), and boy do things steam up when she gets onscreen. She plays another alien on the prowl for just the right man. She'll take the wrong one on occasion, though, such as some lucky grease monkey who gets his stick shift serviced in the restroom before Amelia sends him to the big parking lot in the sky.
Amelia is a slinky brunette who, besides a guest spot on CSI: Miami, is barely a blip on the celebrity radar. But with her model's body and a stripper's tendency to show all she's got--as she does so skinfully in Species III--let's hope we see even more of her wearing less (if that's possible) in the future.
The third time's the charm, and not only because of the charming cast. Veteran TV director Brad Turner directs the action in Species III, but don't let his previous work on such series as 21 Jump Street turn you off. His work in features is limited, but he shines in the Canadian comedy Goofballs (1987), starring the Nookie of the North Cynthia Belliveau in a hot shower scene. Her body of wank was first seen in a sexy striptease from Loose Screws (1985), and you'd have to have a screw loose not to get a rise from that.
